Calls To Boycott Starbucks After Controversial Arrest Of Two Black Men

posted by Bill Galluccio -

Apr 16, 2018

A group of protesters packed into a Philadelphia Starbucks where two black men were arrested last week after an employee called the police and said they were trespassing. The two men reportedly asked to use the bathroom and were told they needed to place an order to be allowed to use the restroom. The men refused to place an order or leave, and an employee called the cops.

"We don't want this Starbucks to make any money today. That's our goal," said Abdul-Aliy Muhammad, one of the protest's organizers and co-founder of the Black and Brown Workers Collective.

Protesters demanded that the coffee chain fire the employee who called the police. Comedian Kevin Harttweeted his support, asking Starbucks " to do what's right and handle the manager that was on duty accordingly." TMZ reports that rapper T.I. called for a boycott of the coffee chain over the incident.

"I'll say the circumstances surrounding the incident and the outcome at our store on Thursday were reprehensible," Starbucks' CEO Kevin Johnson said in an exclusive interview with ABC News’ "Good Morning America" today. "They were wrong, and for that, I personally apologize to the gentlemen that visited our store."